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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28378851">A Day at the Mall/Heartbreak on the Shore</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/justmagicalgirls/pseuds/justmagicalgirls'>justmagicalgirls</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Gen, Mock Episode, No Outright Romance, but implied crushes on others, sara being upset and taking things the wrong way like always</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-11 00:34:51</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,188</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28378851</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/justmagicalgirls/pseuds/justmagicalgirls</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Caren is fleeing from the Black Beauty Sisters, and in a turn of events, ends up on land at the mall with Rina. Meanwhile, Sara fumes about Tarou at both the bottom of the ocean to Coco, who convinces her to pay him a visit.</p><p>~Written for @amainoyuki for the Mermaid Melody Secret Santa on Tumblr~</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A Day at the Mall/Heartbreak on the Shore</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Faster, faster!!" Caren urged her dolphin, glancing behind her. Sheshe and Mimi were hot on her tail today. While searching the South Pacific, she'd gotten close to Gaito's castle once again. As always though, he sent out his little goons to fight for him, and she'd barely been able to escape in time. They had almost begun to sing before her dolphin squeaked to alert her, and the two of them sped out of there. </p><p>"Figures," Caren muttered. "I get close again and they come out every time." She glanced back to see how far they were. Of course, they were gaining on her. Caren cursed. They were coming up fast on her usual hiding place; it didn't look like she'd be able to duck in there to shake them. There were underwater caves she could potentially lose them in, but she wasn't well acquainted with the cave system in the South Pacific. Getting lost was not at the top of her list of things to do. If they were lucky, they could make it to the North Pacific and get help from the other princesses. </p><p>"What do you think, girl? Can we make it all the way to the North Pacific?" Caren whispered to her dolphin. </p><p>She squeaked back, "We're not that far, but they're continuing to gain. You should hide out on land and meet up with the others-" </p><p>"What's the matter? Don't want a lovely family reunion with your sister?" Sheshe yelled, from behind her. Caren felt white hot anger fill her. </p><p>"Don't engage, princess," her dolphin squeaked. "You're not going to win on your own-" </p><p>"HOW DARE YOU!" Caren had already turned around, shrieking. "Don't EVER talk about Noel-" </p><p>"I said, don't engage! Please!" her dolphin squeaked. "We're in the North Pacific now, just hang on a little longer!" </p><p>"Don't you know? Sisters should be together!" Mimi's voice came from behind them. "Just look at us, and we're not even twins! What kind of younger sister are you, leaving your older sister all alone?" </p><p>Caren looked like she'd been shot. A mix of rage and overwhelming sadness caused tears to bloom in her eyes. </p><p>"Noel," she whispered, holding her necklace. That was it, she was going to transform and knock them the hell out- </p><p>"Land coming up!" her dolphin squeaked. "Time to go!" </p><p>"No," Caren said, holding her necklace. "I'm going to defeat them on my own for insulting Noel and I like that. Purple Pearl Voice!" </p><p>The dolphin, interrupting her transformation, "Now is not the time! As a royal dolphin for the Antarctic Ocean, and as your friend, I can't allow you to remain in danger like that. Happy landings, princess!" her dolphin squeaked. </p><p>It suddenly shot towards the surface, Caren barely clinging on. She was still transforming into her idol self. </p><p>"Stop!" she shrieked, but the dolphin just ignored her. It broke the surface, tossed Caren's now fully transformed self into the air, and aimed her towards land. </p><p>"STOP IT!!" Caren screamed. "Let me fight them!!" But it was too late, she was already hurtling towards land. She barely had time to brace herself before she faceplanted directly into the sand on the beach. </p><p>"Urggh," she mumbled. "That's gonna leave a mark." She laid there for a second, debating the meaning of life. Was it really worth it to keep fighting? She'd probably never be able to fight them on her own, she always needed help. Maybe she should just give up and let them catch her. Her idol transformation wore off, and she just laid there face-down in the sand, purple hair spread around her. Tears welled up in her eyes and soaked the sand around her.</p><p>~</p><p>Rina hummed to herself as she strolled through the shops of the mall. She'd agreed to meet Lucia and Hippo here, but they were running late, as always. Hanon was planning on joining them later, after she put into action her latest plan to get Tarou to notice her. For now though, she was just on her own in the mall, eating a fish bun. </p><p>She stopped at a store advertising a spring sale. A little pang went through her heart as she recalled all the times she'd visit the human world in spring as a younger mermaid, once the ice had broken above her palace and she could leave the ocean. She'd go with Noel sometimes to Europe or America and just sightsee. A tear fell down her face without her realizing, and Rina moved on from the store. </p><p>She stopped and leaned on a railing, looking out towards the beach. The mall was outdoors mostly, and the fresh sea breeze washed over her. It carried the chill of spring along with the salt of the ocean. The waves crashed against the beach in the distance. People were walking along it, but everyone seemed to be avoiding... something. Rina squinted, but all she could make out was some dark purple blob on the beach. Weird. </p><p>She shrugged. She figured she might as well go investigate. Lucia wouldn't be there for a while anyways, and she'd immediately beeline to the clothing stores. Better to investigate now and stop a potential attack in its tracks, instead of waiting and then innocent civilians getting attacked. </p><p>Rina quickly made her way to the beach. On first glance, the ocean seemed to be clear, so she made her way down to the sand where the purple thing was. Now that she was getting closer, she could make out what it was. It was a human with dark purple hair laying face down on the beach. Rina sighed. </p><p>"Caren, what are you doing?" she asked, crossing her arms. </p><p>"..." </p><p>"If you want to blend in with human sunbathers, they usually lie face up. Not motionless, face down in the sand. You look like a dead body." </p><p>"Go away." </p><p>Rina heard a sniffle after Caren spoke, and sighed again. "Caren, if you want to lie in the sand all day, be my guest. But it looks weird and you're drawing attention. Not sure if that's what you're going for, but-" </p><p>Something splashed out in the ocean. Rina turned to look at it quickly, and swore. Sheshe and Mimi were peeking out of the water in the distance. </p><p>"Caren, the Black Beauty Sisters are out there. You're in no condition to fight and I'm not going to fight them alone. Let's get off the beach-" </p><p>"Just let them take me!" Caren raised her head to look at Rina, tears pouring down her face. "I'm a horrible sister! I deserve to be with Noel!" </p><p>Rina was taken aback by her remark. She glanced out at Sheshe and Mimi, lurking in the ocean, and rolled her eyes. "Ok, Caren, you give me no choice." </p><p>"Wha- hey! Leave me alone!" Caren yelled. Rina had walked over to her, grabbed her arms, and attempted to pull her from her spot. "You can just leave me here, I don't care! I'll say hi to Noel for you-" </p><p>"You think she wants you there?" Rina cut her off. Tears welled up in her own eyes. "After she sacrificed herself so you could escape from Gaito's castle with us? You might not know her, but I do! She's my best friend, and she'd be crushed to see you giving up like this! Now get up and let's get out of here!" </p><p>"Rina..." Caren mumbled. She sniffled again. Rina pulled out her handkerchief and offered it to Caren. She accepted, and wiped away her tears. </p><p>"What about them?" Caren asked, glancing towards the ocean. "Should we fight them now?" </p><p>Rina shook her head. "You shouldn't be fighting right now. Let's get away from here, they'll probably show up later anyways. I'll warn Hanon and Lucia that they've been spotted here." </p><p>Caren nodded. She took Rina's hand &amp; got up. She stumbled a bit, but leaned against Rina as they walked away from the beach. </p><p>"Where are we going?" she asked. </p><p>"I was planning on meeting Lucia at the mall, if you don't mind seeing her too. She's running late like always, though." </p><p>"Ugh. Can we buy earplugs first?" </p><p>"That's rude! Her human normal voice isn't THAT bad. Her human singing voice though..." </p><p>"Yeah, yeah, I think you're just used to it at this point," Caren laughed. </p><p>Rina sighed. "Maybe so." </p><p>~</p><p>The deep sea was cold today. It may have been spring on the surface, but there was a chill in Gaito's palace. Cold enough to require a blanket, in fact. </p><p>Sara strolled through the corridors of the castle, blanket snugly wrapped around her. Her dress was very light and didn't offer much for warmth. An unfortunate drawback to her human form was the inability to be immune to the coldness of the deep sea. That had been the only positive of being a mermaid. No worries, that side of her was gone forever. </p><p>She rounded the corner and entered the hall where Coco and Noel were kept. The other 4 tanks remained empty, for now. Hopefully Gaito and his minions would catch the others soon, and summon Aqua Regina. </p><p>Her eyes skimmed the tanks. The two princesses seemed to be sleeping still. Not that there was much else for them to do. Sara's eyes lingered on Coco's tank for a little longer than necessary. A lump rose in her throat, but she swallowed it down. The version of her that was friends with Coco was long gone. Even just looking at her reminded her of the heartbreak she had gone through, and the destruction of their two countries. </p><p>"Sara," came a muffled whisper. Sara, who had been staring at the ground, jerked up &amp; froze. Coco's eyes were open &amp; she was watching her. </p><p>Sara's eyes narrowed. So she had been pretending to be asleep then. "If you think that simply saying my name will cause me to go back on everything and free you, you're dearly mistaken, my dear Coco. I made my decision a long time ago. The human world must go." </p><p>"Tarou didn't mean to leave you," Coco whispered back. "He simply thought that because you were a princess, you wouldn't want him-" </p><p>"LIES!" Sara shrieked. </p><p>Coco continued, "It would break his heart to see you like this. I'm sure he never meant it to end like this." </p><p>Sara stood still, fists clenched at her side. "He left me and broke my heart! There's no going back from that!" The lump in her throat was getting bigger, and it was getting harder to keep down. No, she had to keep her composure. She took a deep breath. </p><p>"Why don't you ask him?" Coco whispered. "You've already seen him on the surface once, you know he's alive."  </p><p>"I-" Sara began, trying her best to bottle up her emotions. She cleared her throat. "I simply went to his concert. He didn't see me. Nor do I want to see him again. The little mermaid who fell in love with him is dead. Now, it's time for you to sleep." </p><p>With that, Sara turned her back on Coco. Heels clicking on the floor, she walked away from the tank. </p><p>Coco watched her go, sadly. Maybe one day she'd get through to her. There wasn't much she could do, trapped in this tank. But she could still talk and attempt to convince her to get the truth. She heard Sara's attendant try to speak to her in the distance. </p><p>"Princess Sara-" her attendant began. Sara just brushed past her, completely ignoring her. She walked all the way back to her room, completely silent. Once there, she shut the door with a slam and leaned against it. The tears that she'd been struggling to keep back boiled over. </p><p>Sara crossed the room silently to her vanity, tears rolling down her cheeks. She sat down and violently yanked the drawer open. Her once-orange, now stained a deep black necklace and pearl sat inside it. Tears continued to slide down her face as she stared at it, considering. Maybe she would pay Tarou a visit after all. A cold smile crossed her face. It would be the last visit she'd ever pay him. </p><p>~</p><p>Caren and Rina sat at a table in the food court of the mall. Rina was eating another fish bun she had bought, and Caren was staring dejectedly at the table. The ice cream Rina had bought her was completely melted and looked like soup. </p><p>Rina cleared her throat. "So, Caren, how are you feeling-" </p><p>"She should be here with us!" Caren said, banging her hands on the table. "Noel should be here with us! Look!" She thrust the bowl of melted ice cream into Rina's face. "It LOOKS like her ocean! It's a sign!" </p><p>Rina stared at her. Caren had officially lost her marbles. She'd been to the Arctic Ocean and could confirm, it did not look like a bowl of melted ice cream. She sighed. </p><p>"Caren, that's not what the Arctic looks like-" </p><p>"Yes it is! The chunks of cookie dough are like the icebergs!" Caren insisted. The 'icebergs' shook along with the bowl as she pushed it closer to Rina. "Look! Just like-" </p><p>"Are you under a spell?" Rina cut her off. "Or drank soda recently? You're acting insane. First you're lying on the beach waiting for death to come, now you're telling me that a bowl of melted ice cream looks like the Arctic Ocean. I get that you miss Noel, so do I. But you're acting crazy." </p><p>Caren sat back and crossed her arms. "Maybe they did put a spell on me," she said. "I've just never missed Noel this much. Hearing Sheshe and Mimi talk about her like that just angered me. She's such a good person, and I-" Her breath caught in her throat. She glanced down, but Rina knew it was to hide her tears. </p><p>"We don't deserve her," Rina said, softly. "That's why we're going to get her back from Gaito. All of us. We'll get her and the South Pacific princess back, and figure out something with the Indian Ocean princess." </p><p>Caren sniffled. She turned away slightly and wiped the tears out of her eyes. "It still just feels wrong to be sitting here, enjoying ourselves in the human world, while she's... there. Stuck in a tank. Forced to just be there all day, doing nothing." </p><p>Rina said nothing. She felt the same way too. The little twinges of guilt she felt every time she did something fun had only gotten worse since their escape from Gaito's castle, and Noel's second sacrifice. </p><p>Caren continued, "I mean, maybe she talks to Coco all day? Can they talk in those tanks to each other, you think?" </p><p>Rina frowned. "Who's Coco?" </p><p>Caren was silent for a second. "What do you mean, who's Coco? How do you not know- The South Pacific Princess??" she said, shocked. </p><p>"Oh... I didn't know her name," Rina said. "I knew she was the South Pacific, since she was yellow, but-" </p><p>"How did you not know her name?!" Caren sputtered. "I-you-your country might not be close to hers, but Lucia's is NEXT to hers! Why didn't she tell you!" She paused. "Wait, don't tell me Lucia doesn't know either." </p><p>Rina sighed. "I think you know the answer to that," she said. </p><p>Caren just stared at her. You could almost see the mental calculations she was doing, trying to figure out just how dumb Lucia was. "How did she, and Hanon too for that matter, not get captured before you met up with them?" </p><p>"Pure luck," Rina said. "Or the sea demons thought their voices were too annoying, and didn't want to bother Gaito with them." </p><p>She and Caren sat there a moment, contemplating everything. It was silent before both of them suddenly just burst into laughter. Their worries about Noel had completely faded in light of realizing how incredibly incompetent Lucia was, and how ridiculous this all was. </p><p>Still giggling, Rina stood up from her chair. Caren followed suit. Their eyes met, and Rina looked at the bowl of melted ice cream. </p><p>"Arctic Ocean," she said. Caren snickered. </p><p>"Hey, for all you know, that could look like MY country," Caren said. "Have you ever been to the Antarctic?" </p><p>"No, I can't say I have," Rina said. She picked up the bowl and handed it to Caren. </p><p>"Well, I'll have you know that it looks EXACTLY like this. Cookie dough chunks and all," Caren declared, still giggling. </p><p>Rina let out a mock gasp. "Why, how incredible! Do you also have a road full of ocean rocks? A rocky road, if you will?" </p><p>Caren let out the most un-royal snort in the world. She turned slightly red for a second, but it faded when Rina started just howling with laughter. Caren joined her, and together they cleaned up their mess and set off for another section of the mall, still rolling in laughter. </p><p>~</p><p>Sara swam through the cold ocean water, relishing the speed at which she could move with her tail. Perhaps there were more perks to being a mermaid than she recalled. Not that it mattered, of course. She wasn't colorful anymore; she'd lost her orange coloring when she unlocked the gates of Panthalassa Castle all those years ago. Her tail and hair had suffered the same fate of being dyed a deep black, like the deep abyss of the bottom of the ocean. </p><p>She was somewhere in the North Pacific at the moment. Sara had thought about making an appearance in the North Pacific castle and terrorizing the last country left standing against them, but decided against it. In due time, they would gain the North Pacific. For now, her mission was to seek out Tarou. </p><p>Coco's voice echoed in her thoughts, "He didn't mean for it to end up like this. It would hurt him so much to see you like this." Bile rose in Sara's throat. </p><p>"Then why would he leave me then, if he didn't want me to be miserable," she muttered to herself. No matter. What was done, was done. Nothing could bring back her own country, or Coco's, or any of them in fact. </p><p>The ocean began to lighten around her. She was nearing the surface, somewhere near that coastal town where she had watched Tarou's concert, and defeated those horrible singing sisters. Honestly, what was Gaito thinking, using them? Their song had no emotion, and they were disgustingly incestuous. The only thing going for them was the fact that the 3 young mermaid princesses were not very powerful on their own. They hadn't stood a chance against her, and likely wouldn't stand a chance against Coco alone... not that it mattered. </p><p>Sara broke the surface then, making sure she was a good distance from land. She did a quick scan of her surroundings. She was definitely somewhere close to the concert hall she'd been before. Where Tarou was, was another question. </p><p>She was drawn out of her thoughts by the sound of crunching gravel on land. Sara looked up to see a girl walk past on the pathway bordering the beach. She looked familiar somehow, yet Sara was sure there were thousands of blue-haired schoolgirls in the world. </p><p>Against all better judgement, Sara decided to follow her. Keeping a safe distance between herself &amp; the shore, she lurked in the shallow waters, watching the girl walk through town. She seemingly had no cares in the world, humming a tune to herself. Foolish girl. Sara remembered being that girl. The happy-go-lucky teenage girl, one who was all too happy to be with- </p><p>"Tarou-chan!" the girl said, on land. She had arrived at a house on the beach, and it seemed to belong to none other than Tarou Mitsuki. </p><p>Sara watched, in shock, as she talked to him on land. Other than her initial exclamation, their conversation was too quiet to reach her. Ice filled her veins as she realized what had happened. She had been replaced, and by another foolish 14 year old girl. She watched as the girl went inside with him, and shortly after, the notes of his piano echoed onto the sea. </p><p>Rather than filling her with sadness, it filled her with rage. Was it really his love for her that filled his music? Or was it the love for his newest trophy? Coco had been wrong. He didn't care about her anymore. And what's more, he'd picked a girl over a decade younger than him! That was borderline disgusting. </p><p>Fuming, Sara turned away, ready to dive back into the depths. The gaping hole in her heart had widened even further, and only her beloved in the castle could soothe it. She was ready to dive when she heard a crash come from the house. </p><p>Sara whirled around, only to see one of Gaito's absolutely moronic Dark Lovers standing on a rock, crowing, "A new Mermaid Princess! Plus, the Aquamarine one! Wait until Gaito hears!" It was Eriru, and it appeared as though she had sent a bolt of energy at the house. Only the deck seemed to be damaged, but Sara could see Tarou and the girl's shocked faces staring out at Eriru on the rock. Sara realized that the girl had an aquamarine shell necklace around her neck. Disgusting. It appeared Tarou had a type: 14 year old Mermaid Princesses. </p><p>Sara narrowed her eyes, turning her focus to Eriru, "I am not what you're after. Stand down," she said calmly. </p><p>"No!" Eriru said. "Instead, how about you spin!!" With that, she sent a bolt of energy towards Sara. She simply rolled her eyes and dodged. </p><p>Her hand went to her darkened necklace, and she calmly transformed into Black Pearl Voice. Eriru, completely unaware of the trouble she was in, sent more energy arrows at her. However, Sara was now surrounded by her dark live stage, and had risen into the air. The energy arrows dissipated as she began to sing Return to the Sea, and shortly afterwards, Eriru was knocked unconscious. </p><p>Sara crossed her arms, glaring at the unconscious form of Eriru floating face down in the water. She'd talk with Gaito about this. Who knew how long Eriru had been trailing her? </p><p>She then turned her gaze back to Tarou's house. Both him and the Aquamarine Princess were staring at her, slack-jawed. He ran outside, to his ruined deck, and shouted, "Sara!" </p><p>She turned away, her transformation undoing, as she dove into the deep sea. Sara swam down, down, down, sinking like a stone. Her salty tears mixed with the water, and she cursed the day she had ever met Tarou. One day, soon, she would bring him to his reckoning. </p><p>~</p><p>"Rina, stop staring at the plasma TV. It feels like we've been here for hours," Caren said, arms crossed. They had gone to an electronics store, and Rina had immediately beelined for the TV section. She was now staring, transfixed, at the wall of TVs. </p><p>"It's so nice though," Rina said, staring at it. "We can watch ultra crisp shows on it-" </p><p>"Yeah, yeah, I got us something useful," Caren said, holding up a bag. Rina frowned, turning her attention away from the TV display. Caren shifted her arms and pulled a box out of the bag. "Tah-da!" </p><p>"Noise-canceling headphones?" Rina asked. She then realized Caren's likely motive, and sighed, "Is this another jab at Lucia's singing, because-" </p><p>"Yes and no," Caren said. "Yes, her singing is bad on land, and in water too really, and even her ido- Nevermind. More importantly, it can probably stop the Black Beauty Sisters' songs! Only on land, though, unless we want to get electrocuted." </p><p>"How do we know if they'll work though? Their songs are magic, it might get through," Rina said. </p><p>"Yeah, don't worry, we can go test that out now. While you were busy being hypnotized by the TV display, Sheshe &amp; Mimi showed up and started terrorizing the mall. Your friends went to stop them but-" </p><p>"Hanon and Lucia are here? And in trouble? Why didn't you tell me?!" Rina shrieked. She grabbed the headphone box from Caren, ripped it open, put the headphones on, and went charging out of the store. Caren watched this whole display, faintly smirking. She casually put her headphones on as well and followed Rina out. </p><p>Rina was barrelling full speed through the mall, on the lookout for the Black Beauty Sisters. She skidded into the main thoroughfare of the mall just as a yellow-white light illuminated the plaza. It appeared Hanon and Lucia had transformed, and it looked like they were singing. Rina couldn't hear a thing. A blessing in disguise, perhaps. </p><p>A tap on her shoulder caused Rina to jump nearly 40 feet in the air. She turned around to see Caren, grinning and giving her a thumbs up. 'They work!' she mouthed. Rina simply sighed and shook her head, watching Hanon and Lucia perform while Sheshe and Mimi writhed in agony. Today had been fun. She felt like she understood Caren a little better, and hopefully it would help them in their quest to free Noel, and more importantly, bring peace to the seas again.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I hope you enjoyed! I wanted to make almost like a mock episode type of fic with your favorite characters, and I think I accomplished that. I started out with a simple idea of 'Caren &amp; Rina hang out and bond over missing Noel, while B plot is Sara raging about Tarou' and essentially that is most of what the later half of season 1 is.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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